The Multi-Stakeholder Deal Mapping Template

Company name: [COMPANY NAME]
Industry: [INDUSTRY]
Deal value (estimated): [VALUE OR RANGE]
Deal type: [ONE-OFF PROJECT / RETAINER / LICENCE / OTHER]
Expected decision date: [DATE]
Decision trigger: [WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN FOR THEM TO SAY YES, E.G. BUDGET APPROVAL / BOARD SIGN-OFF / PILOT COMPLETION]
Your primary contact: [FULL NAME, JOB TITLE]
Date of first contact: [DATE]
Current deal stage: [DISCOVERY / PROPOSAL SENT / NEGOTIATION / STALLED / OTHER]
How we found them / how they found us: [SOURCE]

Copy this block for each person involved in the decision.

---
Full name: [NAME]
Job title: [TITLE]
Department: [DEPARTMENT]
Role in this deal: [CHAMPION / BLOCKER / ECONOMIC BUYER / END USER / LEGAL OR COMPLIANCE / INFLUENCER / SILENT OBSERVER]
Have I spoken to them directly? [YES / NO / NOT YET]
Date last spoke: [DATE]
Their stated priority: [WHAT DO THEY SAY THEY CARE ABOUT MOST]
Their real priority: [WHAT YOU BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT, BASED ON WHAT THEY SAID OR DID NOT SAY]
Their biggest concern about moving forward: [SPECIFIC CONCERN, NOT A VAGUE OBJECTION]
How they prefer to communicate: [EMAIL / CALL / IN-PERSON / SLACK / OTHER]
Relationship warmth (1 to 5): [1 = COLD / 3 = NEUTRAL / 5 = WARM ADVOCATE]
What would make them a stronger supporter: [ONE SPECIFIC THING]
---

Who reports to whom:
[NAME] reports to [NAME]
[NAME] reports to [NAME]

Who influences whom (even informally):
[NAME] has a strong influence on [NAME] because [REASON]
[NAME] defers to [NAME] on decisions involving [TOPIC]

Who is most likely to push the deal through: [NAME]
Who is most likely to slow it down: [NAME]
Who has final sign-off authority: [NAME]
Who controls the budget: [NAME] (same as above, or different: [NOTE])

Champion name: [NAME]
Why they want this deal: [THEIR PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL MOTIVATION, NOT JUST THE BUSINESS CASE]
What they stand to gain if this goes well: [PROMOTION / RECOGNITION / SOLVING A PROBLEM THEY OWN / OTHER]
What they risk if this does not go well: [BE HONEST ABOUT THIS]
How much political capital do they have with the decision-maker: [LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH]
Are they willing to advocate inside the business on our behalf: [YES / NOT YET / UNKNOWN]
Have we given them everything they need to make the internal case: [YES / NO, STILL NEED TO PROVIDE: (LIST)]
What is the one thing that would make them more confident advocating for us: [SPECIFIC ACTION OR INFORMATION]
How do we keep this person warm between conversations: [SPECIFIC TOUCHPOINT PLAN, E.G. SEND CASE STUDY BY FRIDAY / CHECK IN FORTNIGHTLY / INVITE TO WEBINAR]

---
Blocker name: [NAME]
Job title: [TITLE]
Type of blocker:
[ ] Budget owner who is protecting spend
[ ] Legal or compliance who needs reassurance
[ ] Internal team member who feels threatened by the change
[ ] Senior person who prefers the status quo
[ ] Someone who backed a competitor or alternative
[ ] Other: [DESCRIBE]

Their specific concern (in their words if possible): [QUOTE OR PARAPHRASE]
Root cause of the concern: [WHAT IS REALLY DRIVING THIS]
Have we addressed this concern directly: [YES / NO / PARTIALLY]
What would change their position: [SPECIFIC THING, E.G. REFERENCE CALL / REVISED SCOPE / PILOT PERIOD / DIFFERENT PRICING STRUCTURE]
Who inside the company has the most influence over them: [NAME]
Plan to neutralise or win over: [2 TO 3 SPECIFIC STEPS WITH OWNER AND DATE]
---

Step 1: [WHAT HAPPENS FIRST, E.G. PROPOSAL REVIEWED BY PRIMARY CONTACT]
Owner: [NAME] | Target date: [DATE] | Status: [NOT STARTED / IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE]

Step 2: [NEXT STEP, E.G. PROPOSAL SHARED WITH BUDGET HOLDER]
Owner: [NAME] | Target date: [DATE] | Status: [NOT STARTED / IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE]

Step 3: [E.G. LEGAL OR PROCUREMENT REVIEW]
Owner: [NAME] | Target date: [DATE] | Status: [NOT STARTED / IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE]

Step 4: [E.G. BOARD OR LEADERSHIP SIGN-OFF]
Owner: [NAME] | Target date: [DATE] | Status: [NOT STARTED / IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE]

Step 5: [E.G. CONTRACT SIGNED / PURCHASE ORDER RAISED]
Owner: [NAME] | Target date: [DATE] | Status: [NOT STARTED / IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE]

Is there a budget cycle or fiscal deadline we need to work around: [YES, DESCRIBE / NO]
Is there an internal event that accelerates or delays the decision (e.g. board meeting, new hire, restructure): [YES, DESCRIBE / NO]
What is the single biggest cause of delay right now: [BE SPECIFIC]
What is our next concrete action to move this forward: [ACTION] by [DATE], owned by [YOUR NAME OR THEIRS]

Use this block when a deal has gone quiet.

Last meaningful contact: [DATE]
Last thing that happened: [SPECIFIC EVENT, E.G. PROPOSAL SENT / CALL HAD / EMAIL RECEIVED]
Why we believe it has stalled:
[ ] Champion has gone quiet
[ ] Blocker has entered the process
[ ] Budget has been frozen or redirected
[ ] Internal priority has shifted
[ ] They are comparing us to an alternative
[ ] No internal urgency to move forward
[ ] We have not given them a clear reason to act now
[ ] Other: [DESCRIBE]

Our re-engagement approach: [SPECIFIC PLAN, E.G. CALL CHAMPION THIS WEEK / SEND NEW CASE STUDY / PROPOSE A SMALLER PILOT TO RESTART MOMENTUM]
If no response by [DATE], we will: [SPECIFIC NEXT STEP OR DECISION TO CLOSE THIS OUT]

Score each item from 1 (very weak) to 5 (very strong).

Champion strength: [SCORE] / 5
(Do we have someone who will actively advocate for us inside the business?)

Access to the decision-maker: [SCORE] / 5
(Have we spoken directly to the person who signs off, or only to intermediaries?)

Clarity on budget: [SCORE] / 5
(Do we know there is real budget allocated, and roughly how much?)

Clarity on timeline: [SCORE] / 5
(Do we know when they want to make a decision and why?)

Blocker status: [SCORE] / 5
(Have we identified all blockers and do we have a plan for each?)

Competition awareness: [SCORE] / 5
(Do we know who else they are considering, if anyone?)

Urgency: [SCORE] / 5
(Is there a real reason for them to move forward now rather than in six months?)

Our differentiation clarity: [SCORE] / 5
(Does every person involved in the decision understand what makes us the right choice?)

Total: [SCORE] / 40

Interpretation:
32 to 40: Strong. Keep momentum. Do not overcomplicate it.
24 to 31: Developing. Identify the two lowest scores and address those specifically.
16 to 23: At risk. Needs a strategy reset, not more activity.
Below 16: Qualify out or put on hold. Your time is better spent elsewhere.

Biggest gap to address this week: [THE ONE THING THAT WOULD MOVE THE SCORE MOST]
Owner: [YOUR NAME OR A SPECIFIC PERSON]
Deadline: [DATE]